Fly pole Advice.

[Fishaholic]

I am going to be buying a 9 weight fly pole for salmon and steelhead and was looking around on ebay and I found you can put together a rod and reel set up for 120 bucks. I was wondering  if it would be worth the money or should I invest more into a salmon rod and reel. I have a 5/6 w that  I use for trout and want to get a bigger set up.




thanks
dj

[7mmfan]

The rod itself isn't as important as the reel for salmon/steelhead. You can get away with an ok rod, but a steelhead will trash an "ok" reel in a hurry. Invest your money in the reel. Try to find a 9.5' - 10.5' rod, it will make it so much easier to cast those heavy steelhead flies, or mend line at distance.

[wafisherman]

Sorry, but have to disagree and say the exact opposite.  The reel isn't nearly as important as the rod AND the line combo.  Fly fishing is all about the rod and the line working together with the fisherman's skill.  The reel is a line holder. 

I have caught MANY salmon and steelhead on my various setups using a $5 pflueger medalist reel.  You don't NEED anything more, but of course the fly shops would be more than happy to convince you otherwise and there is always plenty of expensive bling out there ready to lure you in...

Also, this isn't catfish fishing at the old muddy farm pond in Texas with your cane pole.  Call it a fly ROD 

For the money, I'd look into a TFO rod.  Probably a 9 footer in an 8wt.  A shop will come in handy in helping match a line to your setup.

I've been fly fishing for 20 years, so feel free to ask me any questions. 

[boneaddict]

I use  a 9+ foot Sage rod in a 9wt with a fighting butt, and have caught hundreds if not a thousand plus steelhead and salmon with it.    A friend built it with the components costing about $300 if I remember correctly.   I use a scientific anglers reel that is probably on the low end of most reels with a reliable drag system.   The rod is everything.  You have to be able to throw the big heavy flies and heavy sink tips all day long.   It is hard for me to imagine a reliable system for that price.  I was thinking the reel was about that and it was "cheap".

[wafisherman]

I love my sage rods, but pretty pricey for a beginner on a budget.  Find a used or even a new medalist reel - save the money for the line ($80 give or take) and rod.  A TFO rod has a good warranty and you can find a good model for about $200.  You can find other deals, but there is a lot of garbage out there and you'll either hate it and quit, or hate it and end up trading up anyway.  I'd look for a med\fast action if you aren't a strong caster yet.  TFO TiCr is a great rod for the money.  You can always upgrade your reel later, but I woudn't skimp (too much) on the rod and line.  And I'd be VERY careful of deals on ebay if you don't know exactly what you are getting into.  (ok, sorry, just read your post again and sounds like you have some experience, so that is good.  But my suggestions still apply....)

I'd look for something like this.  The 9' 8wt 4pc with fighting but.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/TFO-Lefty-Kreh-TiCr-X-Fly-Rods/710999.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%2F%3FN%3D4294750190%2B5102568%26Ne%3D5102568%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dtfo%26Ntx%3Dmode%252Bmatchallpartial%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts%26WTz_st%3DSearchRefinements%26form_state%3DsearchForm%26search%3Dtfo%26searchTypeByFilter%3DAllProducts%26x%3D0%26y%3D0&Ntt=tfo&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

[7mmfan]

I couldn't agree more that you don't NEED anything more than a basic click/pawl reel to land a steelhead, I've landed many as well. In 10 years of guiding anglers, I've also seen my fair share disintegrate when an ocean fresh winterrun hits it going the other way at mach 2. You can get a decent disk drag reel for $100 or less if you shop around, so you certainly don't have to break the bank doing it.

Your rod/line combo is what allows you to fish effectively, but you can pair a good line with an ok rod and be able to fish just fine. Looking into TFO's is a good suggestion, great rods for the money. Also check out Redington rods.

If you're shopping Craigslist like you said, you could find some screaming deals on GOOD gear so keep your eyes peeled.

Also, how are you planning on fishing for them? Are you going to swinging flies with a sink tip line or are you going to drifting flies with an idicator and floating line? If you want the option to do both, make sure you are looking for reels that come with spare spools, or at leats reels that you can find spare spools for so you can have both lines. There are "multi-tip" lines out there, that have floating tips, and different rate sink tips, they work, but just ok.

As you've found out already, there is a lot of knowledge on this site, I'm sure you will get all your questions answered!

[cohoho]

I used only fish for Sockeye and Silver Salmon in AK with a 9/10wt - used an excellent rod with a cheaper reel - lesson learned - better get used to loosing a few thumbs and expect the inside of you thumb area to be bruised really good for the first summer or so and atleast to start off for the next few seasons till muscle memory sets back in.....   But hey once you get used to palming the reel drag doesn't matter...   

I really enjoy using it, but not in "traditional" method of fly fishing more for flipping the smaller rivers than casting...  Everything from Spinner to Spoons to Russian River Flys...  Heck even ran it off my downriggers this summer....  And Sturgeon fished with a sinker release....

[Fishaholic]

I was looking at a rod and reel combo made by redington for $155. Its a 4 piece 9 weight but Im not sure because its off e bay. I am going to wait and go up to cabelas and look at there rods and reels before I buy a setup online. I was looking and  does the color of the floating or sinking line matter?  Ya I have hit my nuckles with my center pin reel a few times lol I fly fish a lake by my house alot and fly fish cutthroat alot.

[Gobble Doc]

Spend the money on the ROD.  Inexpensive reel will be fine.  I love my Sage.  I also have a St. Croix 10 wt I used to use on chum and it was also good.  You  need a good rod to throw heavier flies.

[wafisherman]

Can you tell us more about how and where you plan to use the rod?  Salt water?  Small rivers?  Big rivers? 

I fish rivers in western washington like the skykomish (my backyard practically), snoqualmie, snohomish, green, stilliguamish, and few others.  I also fish from the Puget Sound beaches once in a while.  I only catch a few incidental kings now and then, so mainly steelhead, silvers, chums, and humpies.  An 8wt is plenty of rod for any of those.  Fishing BIG water with strong currents with a chance at hooking kings would probably be a good time to break out the 9-10 wt.  Also, if you are fishing crowded areas and need to really horse the fish in.  But a good 8wt rod and my old school medalist reels have never failed me on any salmon or steelhead.  The only reel failure I ever experienced was on a farily expensive Ross reel I bought about 15 years ago.  Hot steelhead on the Oly Pen hit hard and fast and the reel froze for a split second before engaging the drag - but too late - tippit snapped.

Line color does not matter.  Something you can see well in low light conditions is best.

I don't like traditional swinging for salmon and find myself using a floating line for 90% of my salmon fishing and quite a bit of steelhead fishing on these med to smaller sized rivers.  Floating lines aren't just for indicator\bobber fishing.  I can swing a fly in a steelhead run using it (good line mending and a bit of a weighted fly helps) and love fishing frog water with a slow or fast stripping\pause retrieve for getting the salmon to go nuts for it.  For salmon, when they are in thick, it is just too easy to snag and floss when swinging flies through them.  And if you spend a lot of time dealing with tail hooked fish, then yes, you'll want a 9 or 10 wt     Otherwise, the 8wt and good fighting technique will get the job done fine.

I also use Maxima Ultra Green for my leader and tippet for 99% of salmon and steelhead fishing.  Build my own tapered leaders with it.  No need to spend lots of money on the fly shop stuff.

The extra spools comment was spot on.  But with my medalist reels, they are so cheap, I just buy several and if I want to change line type, I just swap the entire reel instead of messing with spools.  Most spools out there will still cost 2 to 3 times more than a new medalist reel.

Have someone who knows what they are doing help get you set up with the right amount of backing for your line and reel choice.  Take that new medalist reel into a  fly shop.  They'll hate the real, but be glad you spent money there on the backing and line and will get you loaded up correctly.  They can also help you with the knots and loops you'll want to have ready to go.